UK & World News

Israeli Tank Shells Gaza School: 15 Dead

At least 15 people have been killed, including a baby, after an Israeli shell struck a UN-run school in northern Gaza.

An official from the UN's Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA confirmed there were "multiple dead and injured" in the attack on a school in the city of Beit Hanoun. UN staff are also thought to be among the dead.

The facility was being used as a shelter by hundreds of Palestinians who had fled their homes since Israel began airstrikes two weeks ago.

At least 150 people were injured in the blast - the fourth time a UN facility has been hit during the recent conflict.

Chris Gunness, a spokesman for UNRWA, said a window to allow civilians to leave the area was never granted.

He told the AFP news agency: "We've spent much of the day trying to negotiate or to co-ordinate a window so that civilians, including our staff, could leave.

"That was never granted... and the consequences of that appear to be tragic."

He added on his Twitter account that the precise co-ordinates of the school had been given to the Israeli military.

But the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), posting on its official Twitter feed, said Hamas had prevented people evacuating the area.